Primary Election races and a chance to support the Family Center

With three major parties on the ballot, few candidates running opposed and no Chester races – state Rep. Leigh Dakin of Chester is unopposed in the Primary and the General Election — there’s a good chance that poll workers at Town Hall will have a quiet day on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 28.

At least stop by Town Hall, 556 Elm St., to buy baked goods to benefit the Chester-Andover Family Center, which will have a booth set up from 9 a.m. to noon. Polls will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Here’s a list of state candidates, the posts they are seeking and their part affiliation.

For U.S. Senate in the Republican Primary: John MacGovern of Windsor County will go head to head with H. Brooke Paige of Washington County; in the Democratic Primary, incumbent Bernie Sanders of Burlington is running unopposed.
For U.S. Congress, Mark Donka of Hartford is running unopposed in the Republican Primary and incumbent Peter Welch is running unopposed in the Democratic Primary. So expect an interesting race toward November there.

In the statewide races:
For the office of governor, Martha Abbott of Underhill is running as a Progressive; Randy Brock of Swanton is running in the Republican Primary and incumbent Peter Shumlin of Putney is running as a Democrat.

For lieutenant governor, incumbent Republican Phil Scott of Berlin is running unopposed in the primary as are Democrat Cassandra Gekas of Montpelier and Progressive Marjorie Power.

For state treasurer, incumbent Democrat Beth Pearce of Barre City is seeking another term. She’ll be challenged in the General Election by Don Schramm, a Progressive from Burlington, and Wendy Wilton, a Republican from Rutland City.

Secretary of State James Condos, a Democrat from Montpelier, is unopposed in the Primary and the General.

Running for auditor of accounts is Doug Hoffer of Burlington, a Democrat, and Vincent Illuzzi, a Republican from Derby. Incumbent Tom Salmon decided not to seek re-election to seek a higher paying job to benefit his children’s educations.

Attorney General William Sorrell is being challenged in the Democratic Primary by Thomas Donovan. The winner will face off against Republican Jack McMullen in the General Election. All three are from Burlington.

Although Dakin is unopposed in both the Primary and the General, expect the race for Vermont State Senate representing Windsor County to heat up following the Primary. Incumbent Democratic Sens. John Campbell of Hartford, Dick McCormack of Bethel and Alice Nitka of Ludlow will be facing off against Republican challengers Paul Gibbs of Springfield, Dick Tracy of Sharon and Jeff Whittemore of Weathersfield.

Running for High Bailiff for Windsor are Michael Manley, a Democrat from Hartford, and Claude Weyant, a Republican from Weathersfield.